Telecommunications networks provide for the transmission of signals between parties. In an Optical Access Network, signals are transmitted as beams of light over fiber optic cables between subscribers and a service provider. Optical Access Networks generally fall into two categories: Active Optical Networks and Passive Optical Networks. Active Optical Networks include electrically powered switching equipment used to manage the flow of signals to and from subscribers, whereas Passive Optical Networks use unpowered optical splitters/combiners to manage the flow of optical signals via shared lines. Passive Optical Networks are often preferred over Active Optical Networks by service providers due to their lower costs in initial installation, maintenance, and equipment.
Telecommunications networks are often measured by the rate at which signals transmit data across the telecommunications network. The data transmission rates are measured in terms of the bits per second transmitted across the network, which may be referred to as the “speed” of the network. As subscribers demand ever faster speeds from their service providers, the service providers will often upgrade the equipment provided to the subscribers, the service provider's equipment at the head end of a telecommunication's network, and line equipment installed in the field, including the transmission medium itself. These upgrades can be very expensive, especially if the equipment requires that tunable optics be used, and may cause interoperability issues across the telecommunications network as new equipment is rolled out or new lines and line equipment are installed in the field.